Image forming apparatus, image processing apparatus and method capable of determining image forming condition when color unevenness caused in patch image is detected

Abstract

The present invention provides a mechanism that more appropriately evaluates an image defect caused by a specific process in an image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus of this invention performs colorimetry of a patch image at a spatial resolution corresponding to the spatial frequency of color unevenness caused by a specific process included in an image forming process. A statistic value based on the n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) order central moment of a specific color component of a colorimetric value obtained by performing colorimetry at the spatial resolution is compared with a reference value, thereby detecting that the color unevenness caused by the specific process has occurred in the patch image.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
 an image forming unit that forms, on a recording material, a patch image to be used to detect color unevenness by executing an image forming process including a plurality of processes; 
 a colorimetry unit that performs colorimetry of the patch image formed on the recording material at a spatial resolution corresponding to a spatial frequency of color unevenness caused by a specific process included in the image forming process, thereby obtaining a colorimetric value; 
 a detection unit that detects that the color unevenness caused by the specific process has occurred in the patch image by comparing a statistic value based on an n-th (n is an integer not less than 2) order central moment of a specific color component of the colorimetric value obtained by said colorimetry unit with a reference value; and 
 an adjustment unit that, when said detection unit detects that the color unevenness caused by the specific process has occurred in the patch image, adjusts an image forming condition concerning the specific process so as to reduce the color unevenness. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 said colorimetry unit performs colorimetry at a plurality of colorimetric positions in the patch image formed on the recording material at the spatial resolution corresponding to the spatial frequency of the color unevenness caused by the specific process, thereby obtaining a plurality of colorimetric values, and 
 said detection unit comprises: 
 a calculation unit that calculates, for the specific color component, the statistic value of the plurality of colorimetric values obtained by said colorimetry unit; and 
 a determination unit that determines whether the statistic value falls within an allowable range by comparing the statistic value calculated by said calculation unit with the reference value, and 
 detects that the color unevenness caused by the specific process has occurred in the patch image when said determination unit determines that the statistic value falls outside the allowable range. 
 
     
     
       3. The apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein said colorimetry unit performs colorimetry at the plurality of colorimetric positions in the patch image formed on the recording material at a spatial resolution higher than the spatial resolution corresponding to the spatial frequency of the color unevenness caused by the specific process to obtain a plurality of colorimetric values, and executes averaging processing for the plurality of colorimetric values of a plurality of adjacent colorimetric positions to obtain a colorimetric value by the spatial resolution corresponding to the spatial frequency of the color unevenness. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the specific process is a transfer process, 
 the spatial resolution of said colorimetry unit is determined by spatial frequency characteristics in which a characteristic value is 0.5 within a spatial frequency range from 1.0 (inclusive) to 8.0 (inclusive) cycles/mm, and 
 said detection unit detects that color unevenness caused by the transfer process has occurred in the patch image based on the statistic value for a hue component of the colorimetric value obtained by said colorimetry unit. 
 
     
     
       5. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the specific process is a fixing process, 
 the spatial resolution of said colorimetry unit is determined by spatial frequency characteristics in which a characteristic value is 0.5 within a spatial frequency range from 0.5 (inclusive) to 4.0 (inclusive) cycles/mm, and 
 said detection unit detects that color unevenness caused by the fixing process has occurred in the patch image based on the statistic value for a saturation component of the colorimetric value obtained by said colorimetry unit. 
 
     
     
       6. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the spatial resolution of said colorimetry unit is a spatial resolution corresponding to a spatial frequency of color unevenness caused by each of a plurality of specific processes included in the image forming process, 
 said detection unit detects that the color unevenness caused by each of the plurality of specific processes has occurred in the patch image by comparing the statistic value of a corresponding color component with the reference value, and 
 said adjustment unit adjusts an image forming condition concerning a process out of the plurality of specific processes, which is a cause of the color unevenness detected by said detection unit. 
 
     
     
       7. The apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein
 the plurality of specific processes include a transfer process and a fixing process, 
 the spatial resolution of said colorimetry unit is determined by spatial frequency characteristics in which a characteristic value is 0.5 within a spatial frequency range from 1.0 (inclusive) to 4.0 (inclusive) cycles/mm, and 
 said detection unit detects that color unevenness caused by the transfer process has occurred in the patch image based on the statistic value for a hue component of the colorimetric value obtained by said colorimetry unit, and detects that color unevenness caused by the fixing process has occurred in the patch image based on the statistic value for a saturation component. 
 
     
     
       8. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the statistic value is one of a standard deviation and a variance.